Spanish is the home language of millions of people not only in Spain but also in Latin America. It's widely spoken in other countries too, notably ones with large Latin American immigrant populations, such as in the USA. Being able to address these people in their mother tongue will be a great boost for your business but for this to work, you need to find the best person to translate English to Spanish.
The candidate obviously needs to speak, read and write both languages fluently. It's best to choose someone who speaks Spanish as their first language. This is because translators are normally better at translating from the language they're less proficient in to the one they speak most naturally.
Try to find someone who comes from the community that you're trying to target. In Spain, people speak differently from people in Mexico or Argentina. Even neighboring countries like Guatemala and El Salvador can have very different regional expressions. Therefore, if your target market is mainly of Cuban descent, try and find a translator with a Cuban background too.
Many people think that they can simply use online translation tools. However, these tools simply take a text and translate it word for word, with no consideration for context or different meanings for the same word. The result can be either a garbled text that makes no sense at all or it can be one where the text says the opposite of what you'd really like to convey.
Bad translators aren't much better than translation software. They simply use a bilingual dictionary and translate your texts word for word. Good translators, in contrast, will look at the context of each phrase and think about what it is they're translating. They're also creative thinkers and good at solving problems.
A great starting point when trying to find real translators is to see whether they belong to any kind of professional translators' association. These groups don't allow just anybody to become a member but use stringent tests to decide whether someone's work is of a high enough standard before granting them membership. Another good indication of whether someone will be up to the task is to see whether they have any experience of translating for the publishing industry, which also has very high standards.
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a candidate to provide you with a sample translation first. In fact, it's often a good idea to do this in order to see that the person is the right one for the job. Have the sample checked by several Spanish speakers. It may even be worth asking a professional editor to go over the sample.
Just like you wouldn't trust a doctor who charges fifty dollars for brain surgery, you shouldn't trust a translator who charges very low rates. Find out what the industry standard is. Professionals will charge rates in this price range, while amateurs rarely know what the industry standard is and will charge much less. When it comes to translation, quality costs more but it's a great investment, since bad quality will just alienate your target market.
The candidate obviously needs to speak, read and write both languages fluently. It's best to choose someone who speaks Spanish as their first language. This is because translators are normally better at translating from the language they're less proficient in to the one they speak most naturally.
Try to find someone who comes from the community that you're trying to target. In Spain, people speak differently from people in Mexico or Argentina. Even neighboring countries like Guatemala and El Salvador can have very different regional expressions. Therefore, if your target market is mainly of Cuban descent, try and find a translator with a Cuban background too.
Many people think that they can simply use online translation tools. However, these tools simply take a text and translate it word for word, with no consideration for context or different meanings for the same word. The result can be either a garbled text that makes no sense at all or it can be one where the text says the opposite of what you'd really like to convey.
Bad translators aren't much better than translation software. They simply use a bilingual dictionary and translate your texts word for word. Good translators, in contrast, will look at the context of each phrase and think about what it is they're translating. They're also creative thinkers and good at solving problems.
A great starting point when trying to find real translators is to see whether they belong to any kind of professional translators' association. These groups don't allow just anybody to become a member but use stringent tests to decide whether someone's work is of a high enough standard before granting them membership. Another good indication of whether someone will be up to the task is to see whether they have any experience of translating for the publishing industry, which also has very high standards.
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a candidate to provide you with a sample translation first. In fact, it's often a good idea to do this in order to see that the person is the right one for the job. Have the sample checked by several Spanish speakers. It may even be worth asking a professional editor to go over the sample.
Just like you wouldn't trust a doctor who charges fifty dollars for brain surgery, you shouldn't trust a translator who charges very low rates. Find out what the industry standard is. Professionals will charge rates in this price range, while amateurs rarely know what the industry standard is and will charge much less. When it comes to translation, quality costs more but it's a great investment, since bad quality will just alienate your target market.
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